This offseason does not have an off switch. Moves have come in two categories — fast and furious. And the Winter Meetings — the normal bazaar of buzz — do not even begin until next week.

Yet, within the frenzy, there had yet to be anything like Friday morning when — before breakfast had even been digested — we learned Robinson Cano was leaving the Yankees for the Mariners, Curtis Granderson was leaving the Yankees for the Mets and Hiroki Kuroda was staying with the Yankees. Then before bedtime, it was revealed Carlos Beltran was coming to the Yankees.
Here are five thoughts on the whirlwind:

1. Would you rather have Granderson for four years at $60 million or Jacoby Ellsbury for seven years at $153 million? The Yankees certainly had that option because we have to assume — all financials being even — Granderson would have stayed. So it will be fascinating the next few years to gauge who made the better decision — the Yankees letting Granderson go or the Mets jumping in to get him.

Ellsbury has the skills to be better all-around than Granderson — but, to date, he has only had one elite season. There is a tease element to him. What he can be, not what he has been.

Thus, it would be no surprise if Granderson were more productive, especially when you factor in a dollar-to-dollar analysis.
Granderson is 2¹/₂ years older than Ellsbury, his base-stealing acumen has dimmed and his strikeout frequency has reached an alarming state, which really soured key decision-making elements of the Yankees front office. But as one NL executive said, “it was as if they built Yankee Stadium just for his swing.” He will lose some homers going to more spacious Citi Field, but he has real power. He has proved he can play in New York — to perhaps lessen the Jason Bay worries, though Bay had played well in Boston and that was supposed to alleviate Northeast fears.

Consider that in Wins Above Replacement (WAR), which attempts to encompass in one statistic offense, defense and baserunning, Ellsbury has just a slight lead (14.8 to 14.0) over Granderson — nothing to justify a contract for three more years and $93 million more. If it is similar for the next four years then it is advantage Mets, disadvantage Yankees. And here is one other note: Gardner at 15.7 was actually better than both and makes you wonder if the Yankees duplicated his skill set with Ellsbury and should have invested elsewhere.

2. Actually, one other WAR number from the past four seasons combined to consider: 29.7. That belongs to Cano. Still, with Ellsbury, Brian McCann and Beltran, the Yankees are working to compensate for the loss — albeit with players far more brittle than the durable Cano.

If the Yankees, say, sign Omar Infante for second and Mark Reynolds to form a third-base platoon with Kelly Johnson, a lineup could look like this: Ellsbury, Derek Jeter, Beltran, McCann, Alfonso Soriano (DH), Mark Teixeira, Johnson/Reynolds, Infante, Gardner. That is a hard lineup 1-to-9 to pitch against, and has two switch-hitters (Beltran, Teixeira) to make matching up tougher.

But I still think it is possible the Yankees will use Gardner and/or Soriano as trade bait for pitching. Both will make about $5 million in 2014 (that is the portion the Yankees owe on Soriano’s contract) and both are due to be free agents next offseason. With outfielders costing as much as Ellsbury and Beltran, the Yankees might be able to get a nice return, though Soriano’s no-trade clause can be a hurdle.

3. There has been speculation that if the Yankees had gone to eight years at $200 million, they could have retained Cano. I don’t believe that. First, Cano was insistent he wanted a 10-year deal. Second, there would still have been a $40 million gap and players tend not to walk away from $40 million. Third, the Mariners went this far, they would have gone to $250 million or $260 million to get this done.

4. Why would the Mariners have done that? For the same reason the Mets went beyond their initial three-year, tolerance level to hand four years at $60 million to Granderson. You are paying for a player. But also for credibility within the industry and to a fan base.

Both the Mariners and the Mets have been bleeding attendance. Seattle lost half its attendance in a decade, from 3.54 million to 1.76 million. The Mets fell from four million the last season at Shea Stadium in 2008 to 2.1 million last year. The Mariners have not had a winning season since 2009; the Mets have not since 2008. The perception was neither could recruit a big-time player.

Both organizations needed to change the subject, the mojo, the momentum. For the Mets, it cost one-quarter the price to do so — at least temporarily. Because remember this: both Granderson (33 in March) and Cano (31) are late in their prime and likely playing in 2014 on teams not ready to win, and will be ebbing toward an inevitable slide just as their clubs might be getting ready to seriously contend.

5. I will leave the last word to an NL official who I think summed up my feelings even better than I would have:

“I think it is a lose-lose-lose deal. The Yankees lose because Cano helps them more than Ellsbury. Cano loses because he’s on a worse team in a remote area of the country. And baseball loses because
keeping Cano in pinstripes would have been good from a legacy standpoint.

“The contract is ridiculous and a desperate move from a desperate front office that seriously borders on moral hazard. Cano is not [Albert] Pujols or [Alex Rodriguez], he hasn’t done what they did, and he doesn’t deserve to be in the same contract range. I realize there is more money in the game and inflation, but it is a bad contract already and will handicap the franchise long term.”

The Sox are signing players (Napoli) who mattered last season in their run to the Championship. Ellsbury has been a non-factor for years as a lead off hitter and really was no help (maybe a hit or 2) in the playoffs. No one is upset (but the girls who loved how he looked) that he is gone. Too funny that the Yankees think he's going to help them out and replace Cano's numbers.....no way! Heard he's heading to the DL already! hahaha

Joel Sherman hedged his bets on this one by saying that the Yanks MAY not be better. He might be right - but not for the reasons he's preached in this article. Cano or no Cano, if the pitching doesn't improve, if Tex doesn't come back to being the Tex he was when he first got here, if Jeter only plays 80 games, then the Yanks will fare no better than they did last year.

I think the Ellsbury signing is a bit rich, but what new contract isn't? All of today's players are overpaid, so it's a wash. If Cano really wanted to stay with the Yanks, he would ensured his mega payday by changing his on-field demeanor, but he didn't do that. The Yanks will miss Cano in the short run. If the Yanks continue to try to find good role players, then they will have a good team.

Some people here are wanting to blame Cashman for their farm system. It is hard to build a farm system if you end up trading your picks as a result of picking up a free-agents year after year. Having said that, I do believe this year is Cashman's last year if his moves this year don't pan out. He has a golden opportunity to prove that he knows talent enough to field a winner. Where's our next Scott Brosius?

This column by Sherman is ridiculously premature in its speculation that the Yankees may not be any better than last year despite all these deals, since in is only December 7th. With over 2 1/2 months to go before the start of spring training... there are obviously more deals to be made...more holes to be filled...more fine tuning to be done...before any such assessment can be made.

i give cano about two months before the fans start booing his lazy attitude. most yankee fans are thrilled he has now become seattles problem where he will soon see his numbers drop big time yankees finally learing how dangerous long term contracts are...

Life's
but a walking shadow, a poor player, that struts and frets his hour
upon the stage, and then is heard no more; it is a tale told by an
idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing. -- Shakespeare

Signing three 30-something injury-prone players to long-term contracts in order to replace a healthy, productive 30 year old who's a proven hitter? How does this get you to the Word Series?

I tend to agree with the points made by Sherman in his summation, but he is wrong in his overall assertion that the Yankees are losers in this. The Yankees have gone stale the last few seasons and the line-up needed shaking up. Cashman has done exactly that. Fresh blood will give the Yankees fresh impetus next season. Providing they can do something about their pitch because I really fear for progress with the current main pitchers - they have all tailed off last season. Pineda needs to come good as well - he's being paid a lot of money for nothing so far!! As someone else mentions below Yankees' biggest failing is NOT addressing the farm system. That needs a major shake-up and they need to start improving their scouting network. Yankees should be producing the next Jeter, Posada, Petite, Rivera every year!!!

Never mind. I found out about Ellsbury's stints with the disabled list. It has nothing to do with bad health. He plays hard and had a couple collisions. This is why it's good to do a little research rather than listen to everyone who blabs! Lol

Such a ridiculous article. This guy calls himself a sports writer. You should have some logical ability and knowledge of baseball before one puts such thoughts on paper.The Yankees are well rid of Cano. No longer will we have to see his lazy trot down the first base line. We will not miss his big drop off in Home Runs directly after his buddy Melky Cabrera got caught juicing. He was never worth $240 million. Ellsbury, Beltran and McCann were great additions to the roster. Cashman is doing just great with more to come.

It is official, Joel Sherman gets paid to analyze and write articles covering the Yankees yet has no semblance of common sense and knowledge of what the heck he is talking about. I`ll take half his salary and do a better job, what a pathetic writer!

What an ridiculous article .. You can not even compare granderson to ellsbury.. Granderson is a 200 a year strikeout question mark, hits for a low average year in and year out, is speedy but can never use that asset because he doesn't get on base, and hits home runs yea, but when the Yankees are down 7 or up 7 and its usually a solo home run.. I can not believe how overhyped this guy is.. Just typical people again looking at a home run figure.. We need guys who get on base, who hit for average. Homeruns as we have found out in the past are not keys to success.. Small ball always wins.. The only that that worries me about ellsbury is his health.. Other than that I love the signing

When are the Steinbrenners going to smarten up and get rid of Brian Cashman? Our farm system is a flop because Cashman apparently believes it's better to sign players in their 30's to multi year hefty contracts than it is to bring up another Jeter or Rivera or a Petite or a Posada or even a Cano.

Yankees will not make the playoffs for the second straight season. Baseball fans all over America should be thanking the Mariners (not to mention thanking the sons of Steinbrenner and GM Cashman, who are now proving to be the morons we all suspected them to be all along!).

Even though Ellsbury is WAY OVERPAID, I'd rather have him and Beltran rather than Granderson. Ellsbury (when healthy) is a solid hitter with speed and superb defense. Beltran even at his age, is still a very good hitter from both sides of the plate who can still play a decent outfield. Granderson is a .230 hitter who strikes out 180-200 times a year and plays average-mediocre defense. An outfield of Gardner/Soriano, Ellsbury, and Beltran is much improved over Soriano, Gardner, and Granderson.

Another negative anti-Yankee Post by Sherman. You're a real tool Joel. You play the what if good?...and you play the what if bad...What a waste of "I can't predict the future, but here's some crap about nothing to read" I don't know of one good reason why the Post has you covering a team that you despise on a daily basis.

So far, the Yanks have made out just fine. They've rid themselves of a mercurial star (Cano) and a power/strikeout machine (Granderson) and have added a fiery, talented catcher, a fine outfielder, a competent second baseman and a pretty fair clutch player. Not to mention adding back a pitcher that has not exactly embarassed himself in the Bronx the last two seasons. A bunch of things still have to happen to make this a true contender, but the Yankees today are better than the Yankees that closed the season in September. Let's see how the rest of the winter plays out.

Is it really a "lose deal" for the Yanks considering the possibility that the Mariners would have gone to $260 million? In a vacuum, yes it is a lose deal because of Cano's abilities, durability, etc. However, because the Yanks do not print money, their financial resources are limited. Right now, they are spreading the risk (3 really good players for $260 million). From this point of view, it is not a "lose deal" for the Yanks.

@k9_Vamp You mean, like Fred Lynn, and Ron Hunt, and others who hustled into walls and catchers and third basemen until they couldn't hustle into walls and catchers and third basemen any more? Good luck.

What's all this stuff about Ellsbury's health? Did he have an injury on collision or does he have a body that breaks down all the time? There is a difference you know! Can someone bring some solid clarity?

I hope you're not saying the Yankees should have again got themselves into another terrible contract to sign cano.. He's an amazing talent but not worth paying 24 million at 41 when he's not going to be the same player.. Cano will be miserable when he's pitched around all day because there's no one around him and I hope the yanks make the playoffs but you never know

not as much as myself. i told my son 12 years ago the yankees would never be the same without the boss. the current owners, general and field managers and team capt. could not get the arrogant CANO TO RUN HARD TO FIRST. AS A BIG FAN OF THE BOSS I CAN PROMISE YOU IF THE BOSS WAS AROUND AND ACTIVE WHEN CANO WAS DOGGING IT, HE WOULD OF HAD A DIFFERANT ZIP CODE MANY YEARS AGO. GOOD RIDDANCE TO CANO WHO ENDED UP FALLING HOPELESSLY IN LOVE WITH HIMSELF.....

And if the Yanks signed Cano to a megadeal, Sherman would simply criticize them from a different angle. He'll say here's no more money left to improve pitching and other positions, that one guy doesn't make a team, etc, etc.

@Kenghis Khan Actually, it wasn't that negative. He points out a very good hitting lineup and mentions possible trade for Brandon Phillips, or a pitcher, or signing Infante. The headline (not written by Sherman) is much more negative than the story, but i is the New York Post, so what else would you expect.

sherman is the kinda guy that must of gotten slapped around by everyone throughout grade school and high school for being two faced little whining prick. it's no wonder he's amounted to this. good thing for rupport murdoch's period rag of a paper or he's have no place to go.

@Entity Xero Whether or not he's a moron, Cano is a year older than Ellsbury and two years older than McCann, and just got a much longer contact than either. Beltran is 36, but is a good bet to play well for 2 f the 3 they signed because he played well as an everyday outfielder at 36 and now can get rest days as a DH. Ellsbury is being dinged as 'injury prone' because he was hurt in a freak collision with Beltre who is a tank, and in a second base collision. The bone bruise he played through in 2013 that sapped much of his power in healed. He played brilliantly in helping the Red Sox win the postseason.

He is going to hit, and hit for power, and I bet he plays most of the games the first four years of his contract. McCann has one major injury that killed his 2012 season, but blaming him for missing time for the dings that all catchers take is silly. He's caught the vast majority of Braves games since he's been in Atlanta.